Yesterday Theseus fought Periphetes. What happened next?
Theseus: The Road to Athens · A2
Labour Two: The Pine-Bender
The past simple, regular and irregular, comparatives and superlatives, much and many, should, going to, and object pronouns: the grammar of telling what happened yesterday, for Sinis, who bent pine trees.
🌲 Play the story too: in the gamebook, you are Theseus.Play the gamebook →
MARCOS
SOPHIA
Next, a man who was much more dangerous. And now we tell the story in the past.
The story
After the old stories of Theseus
After Periphetes, Theseus walked north along the coast road to the Isthmus of Corinth. There weren’t many people on the road. Everybody was afraid.
At a temple of Poseidon, an old priestess warned him: “Sinis lives in the pine forest. He is stronger than ten men. He bends the tallest trees to the ground.”
Sinis asked every traveller to help him hold a pine tree down. Then he let it go, and the traveller flew into the air. When he asked Theseus, Theseus didn’t help. He knew it was a trick.
Theseus was stronger than Sinis. He bent the tree himself, and Sinis flew into the air. Then Theseus found Sinis’s daughter hiding in the bushes. She was very afraid, but Theseus was kind to her.
The past simple
DEMETRIA
Regular verbs add -ed: walk → walked, ask → asked. But many verbs are irregular: fight → fought, go → went, find → found.
SOPHIA
And the past of be: I / he / she / it was, you / we / they were. Questions: Where did he go? Negatives: He didn’t help. After did, the base verb.
Comparatives and superlatives
MARCOS
Sinis was stronger than ten men! He bent the tallest tree in the forest!
SOPHIA
Short adjectives: strong → stronger → the strongest. Long adjectives: dangerous → more dangerous → the most dangerous.
Much and many
PHILO
There weren’t many people on the road. There wasn’t much food.
SOPHIA
many for things you can count: people, trees, days. much for things you can’t count: food, water, time.
Should and going to
PHILO
Theseus shouldn’t help him! It’s a trick!
SOPHIA
should / shouldn’t + verb gives advice. And be going to for something we can see will happen: Look at his face! He’s going to attack!
Object pronouns; always, never
MARCOS
The girl was afraid. Theseus helped her.
SOPHIA
After a verb: me, you, him, her, it, us, them. And always, often, never go before the main verb: Sinis always asked travellers for help.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the story |
|---|---|---|
| past simple: -ed / irregular | finished past actions | He walked. He fought. |
| was / were; did / didn’t | past of be; questions and negatives | Where did he go? He didn’t help. |
| -er / more…; the -est / the most… | comparing | stronger than, the tallest |
| much / many | uncountable / countable | not many people, not much food |
| should; be going to | advice; something we can see coming | He shouldn’t help. He’s going to attack! |
| me, him, her, them; always / never | object pronouns; adverbs of frequency | Theseus helped her. He always asked. |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose
Choose the correct word.
1. Theseus ___ north along the coast.
2. Sinis ___ the pine tree to the ground.
3. Sinis was ___ than ten men.
4. There weren’t ___ people on the road.
5. You ___ trust strangers on the road.
6. Where ___ the priestess live?
B · Write
Write the missing word.
7. Theseus Sinis’s daughter in the bushes. (find)
8. It was the tree in the forest. (tall)
9. Look at his face! He is to attack!
10. The girl was afraid, so Theseus helped .
C · Right or wrong?
Is it correct?
11. “Did Theseus went to Corinth?”
12. “The priestess was very old.”
13. “Sinis was the most strong man.”
Now play Labour Two yourself, and meet Sinis!Play the gamebook →